Sviatoslav Richter's Prokofiev recordings remain definitive. This disc pairs the Fifth Piano Concerto—a brilliant, modernist work with jagged rhythms and surprising tonal shifts—with the Eighth Sonata, a darker piece composed during World War II. Richter's command of Prokofiev's idiom is complete; he plays these scores as though they were written for his hands alone. The live performance of Visions Fugitives adds urgency and spontaneity. If you want to understand Prokofiev's piano writing, start here. A masterclass in twentieth-century modernism.